The present invention relates to apparatus for use in bleeding-time tests and more particularly to a moveable blotter apparatus to enable a practitioner to perform a bleeding-time test in a rapid and reliable manner.
Bleeding time tests are performed to determine a patient's platelet activity. There are many devices that provide or produce skin incisions in the skin of a patient and are generally noted in the art. These devices are utilized to form a predetermined incision which incision is approximately 5 millimeters in length and 1 millimeter in depth. The bleeding time is defined as the time between implementing the incision and the moment the bleeding stops.
This is a well known test to determine the ability of blood platelets to stop bleeding from injured vessels. Such techniques have been described in the literature. Bleeding tests were first performed by surgeons or technicians who employed a scalpel to make an incision which was a relatively small incision at a relatively small depth. As indicated above, there are now devices which automatically perform such incisions at precise depth and at predetermined lengths. For example of such a device, reference is made to U.S. Pat. No. 4,643,189 issued on Feb. 17, 1987 and entitled APPARATUS FOR IMPLEMENTING A STANDARDIZED SKIN INCISION. This patent was awarded to Michael D. Mintz, the inventor herein.
As can be determined from that patent, there is shown a device which will implement a predetermined incision on the skin of a patient. In order to determine the bleeding time, the prior art utilized various items after the incision was implemented. The most commonly used item was an ordinary blotter or gauze type material which was placed near the incision and which was manipulated by the practitioner performing the test to determine the bleeding time. In this manner, the practitioner at 30 second intervals would hold the tissue or blotter near the incision making sure that the tissue or blotter did not touch the incision.
Blood from the wound would flow on to the material during the interval. During the next 30 seconds, a similar test was performed by holding an unused portion of the blotter or gauze again near the wound to determine whether blood was still flowing. This continued at 30 second intervals until the practitioner noted that blood flow had stopped thus ending the tests. The 30 second intervals indicative of the total of elapsed time in performing the test was implemented by means of a suitable timer or stop watch or conventional timing device.
This test is denoted as a bleeding-time test and is widely utilized prior to surgery and for many other reasons. As indicated, in order to accommodate such tests, the prior art practitioner utilized a conventional tissue, gauze or blotter or more fluid absorbing materials to determine whether or not bleeding had stopped. In any event, as one will immediately ascertain, in todays society there are many diseases such as AIDS which can be transmitted by body fluids. Hence, the prior art technique requires the strict use of gloves to prevent the practitioner from contacting or in any manner touching the blood flowing from the predetermined incision. As one can ascertain, by the use of such prior art devices--namely, sheets of paper or blotting materials and so on, the palm or other parts of the hand of a user could easily and oftentimes contact the blood during such procedures and as well as the fact that the blood on the material was uncovered and hence could be inadvertently contacted by anyone.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a moveable blotter apparatus for use in bleeding-time tests which apparatus enables a practitioner to perform a bleeding-time test in a reliable and economical manner without exposing the practitioner to the blood.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a moveable blotter apparatus having a blood absorbing material encased within a suitable envelope and having a portion protruding from the envelope wherein the blotter or blood absorbing material can be moved by the practitioner to change the protruded portion.